Most Democrats declared Tuesday that Nancy Pelosi will be elected overwhelmingly by her party this week to run for another term as House speaker in January, but the California Democrat may face a mini-rebellion from a group of swing-district lawmakers unhappy with a slate of election losses and a leftward shift in messaging.
“I’m, right now, very passionately undecided,” Rep. Dean Phillips, a Minnesota Democrat, told the Washington Examiner.
Democrats have lost a net of eight seats so far, and several outstanding races favor GOP candidates. Republicans have flipped a dozen seats held by Democrats, all in swing districts.
The shrunken majority will leave Pelosi with almost no wiggle room on Jan. 3, when she must win 218 votes from the entire House in a vote the first week of January. She’ll get no GOP votes, so even a small group of opposing Democrats would derail her election to a fourth term with the gavel.
Pelosi said in an interview as she left the chamber that it was possible someone would vote against her during the caucus vote this week.
“Somebody may,” Pelosi said with a chuckle. “But I’m not worried about it.”
Pelosi, who at 80 is the oldest speaker in history, will likely have only a handful of votes to spare, and at least a handful of Democrats are considering a vote against her.
Phillips, who won in a GOP-held seat in 2016 and cruised to reelection, is among a group of lawmakers concerned about the path forward for Democrats, who have moved their agenda to the left over the past two years.
Phillips, a member of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, said he plans to speak with Pelosi about his indecision.
“I’m reflecting on the term past, I’m reflecting prospectively on what we have to accomplish moving forward, and I’ll make my decision after speaking with her,” he said.
Phillips voted for Pelosi in 2016 after Pelosi agreed to rules changes, including a pledge to serve only two more terms. Phillips acknowledged Pelosi at the helm offers stability, which he said was critical during the Trump administration.
“But it’s a new frontier now,” Phillips said. And I think we are all mindful of that, and I’m one of many considering options, considering what we might need and considering what the country is asking for.”
Only one Democrat, Rep. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, has announced formal opposition to Pelosi, and nobody is running against her.
Most Democrats brushed off the threat of a real challenge to Pelosi.
“She is going to be the speaker for the next two years,” Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Missouri Democrat, told the Washington Examiner. “She is clearly the choice of the overwhelming number of Democrats in the House.”
Pelosi faced far greater opposition in 2018, when 18 Democrats initially opposed her and Rep. Tim Ryan, an Ohio Democrat, announced he would run against her. Pelosi managed to win over her opponents and has largely solidified her standing among lawmakers.
Cleaver noted that this time, there is no alternative candidate to Pelosi and it is unlikely her opposition is steep enough to block her from winning on the House floor.
If Pelosi failed to win a majority in the January vote, the House clerk would conduct subsequent votes until someone wins the backing of 218 members.
It has been nearly a century since a House speaker failed to win the gavel on the first vote.
But some Democrats were hedging Tuesday night.
Rep. Haley Stevens, a Michigan Democrat who earlier this month beat back GOP opponent Eric Esshaki by less than 3 percentage points, declined to say whether she’ll vote for Pelosi as she left a House vote.
“I am very eager to talk to Speaker Pelosi about our Michigan needs and our fiscal responsibility interest here on behalf of Congress,” Stevens said. “I put in a note to her. My big priority is always to continue to advocate for Michigan.”
Another potential holdout, Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, complained about party messaging in a private Democratic conference call after the election, arguing a socialist message and liberal proposals such as defunding the police hurt swing-district candidates.
On Tuesday night, Pelosi’s top lieutenant, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland, and other leadership members crowded around Spanberger in the House chamber and engaged in intense discussions, while Pelosi talked to other lawmakers nearby.
Pelosi said later she “hasn’t paid as much attention” to her own race for speaker because she’s closely attuned to outstanding House races in New York, Iowa, and California.
“Right now, that is where my focus is,” Pelosi said.
Pelosi said the important win for the party was Joe Biden’s presidential election victory.
“Can you just imagine? No more Donald Trump, what a joyous feeling that is,” Pelosi said.
Pelosi said if she speaks to doubtful Democrats, she’ll promote the opportunities the party now has with a Biden victory to pass important agenda items, such as infrastructure reform.
“I think I do the best job, and I’m very excited about it, especially with a Democratic president,” Pelosi said.
In an interview with the Washington Examiner, Slotkin said she wants Democrats to pass more centrist bills that can be signed into law, rather than liberal measures that will be rejected outright by the Senate, which the GOP is favored to lead in January following two special elections in Georgia.
“If we try to just kind of throw spaghetti against the wall, everybody has their pet bill, but we lose that strategic plan, then we’re going to have nothing concrete to show our constituents, and that’ll be a problem in general and specifically for 2022,” Slotkin said.
